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Before Jeff Lynne joined The Move and formed ELO with Roy Wood, he was a member of this Biringham quartet that produced music inspired by the mix of jangly music hall sounds and psychedelic rock. While the band never broke through to top the music charts, their music continues to be appreciated by fans of 60's music. Evolving out of Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders (which featured a young Roy Wood as a member), The Idle Race only made three albums and a handful of memorable singles before disbanding. The splintering of the group would result in Lynne's tenure in The Move, Electric Light Orchestra and The Steve Gibbons Band.

Featuring all the commerically available recordings by the band plus three previously unreleasd alternate versions of album tracks, this two CD set is a terrific blast from the past. When it first appeared in 1996 this set was snapped up by fans of the band, Lynne and ELO. Unfortunately it went out of print within a year of being issued.

The first two albums are terrific as are some of the singles. The third album had its moments as well although the band clearly was going in a very different direction with their change in line up. I wasn't aware that the Idle Race had covered Hotlegs' "Neanderthal Man" (although why they would want to cover one Godley & Creme's worst novelty songs is beyond me)and it isn't signficantly different from the original version.

Lynne was the band's main singer/songwriter/guitarist with Dave Prichard playing George Harrison to Lynne's Lennon & McCartney for the band's first two albums. Lynne raced out to join The Move before The Idle Race began recording their third album and Prichard does a terrific job stepping into the gap providing the songs for the band's third and final album "Time Is".

The 2007 reissue comes without two tracks "It's Only a Dog" and "Your Friend" that were on the previous edition due to licensing issues with Polydor. These two tracks were recorded as The Nightriders and appeared on the previous edition of the album. Lynne played guitar (but didn't write or sing)on thse tracks as he had just joined the band. Other than that this edition appears to be exactly the same as the previous one.

I'm not sure if this is remastered (it doesn't have any mastering credit for the CD)and the new copyright date is probably because it doesn't include the two tracks that were on the previous album. Although the use of noise reduction isn't as heavy handed as some other EMI releases, it is there but isn't as distracting as some other releases remastered at Abbey Road. Although this isn't the perfect release everyone wanted, it's darn close to perfection simply because the sound is pretty good and we get the songs that Lynne wrote/performed on with the exception of the previous mentioned single. We get the booklet as with the previous release which gives us the history of the band and credits for the recording of the albums. There is a note in small lettering at the end of the booklet that states that the two missing tracks aren't there for "legal reasons"(i.e., they couldn't license them).

I'm glad that I was finally able to buy this the big question is why it took EMI so long to reissue it. Nevertheless this will be a delight for faans of psychedelic British rock music (which is quite different from psychedelic American rock music), Lynne, The Move and ELO. A very nice job of repackaging the material and while the two Nightrider songs are missed they aren't as essential as the bulk of the material included here.

Message from the Country, Eldorado and my favorite (although probably not their best)Face the Music

This set has been re-released by EMI (deleting two songs from the previous issue, neither of which Jeff Lynne wrote or sang). These CDs feature the same mastering as before so if you were lucky enough to to have bought it there's no need to get it again. The mastering isn't great but it's not as bad as we've come to expect from Abbey Road. The digital tape hiss removal (NR) isn't as artifact laden as I anticipated. This CD is quite listenable though the mastering would've been better without the NR and heavy handed EQ.

In 1996, UK EMI issued this 2-CD set on their short lived PREMIER series, and it contained all 3 Idle Race LP's (with Lynne on only the 1st two) and all of the Idle Race singles, and to top it off, the rare Polydor single by The Nightriders, who became Idle Race.

The sound on all three albums were substantially better than the original vinyl LP's, however, they did make a few annoying mistakes.

"Come With Me", the lead-off track on the 2nd LP was horribly rechanneled on the LP and it's the same bad rechanneling on the EMI Premier CD.

All of the wonderful mono singles remain mono on the EMI Premier CD. Bummer.

The EMI Premier CD set was stupidly deleted by EMI within a year of its issue and it's been selling on eBay and through Amazon's used sellers for big bucks.

Thankfully, it's being reissued finally, but I hold little hope for EMI to make the corrections (see above).

If you like The Move or Electric Light Orchestra, you cannot live without this 2CD set.

I have to start by saying that I am already a HUGE Move, and E.L.O. fan as well as a fan of Roy Wood's solo work. The Idle Race was the band that Jeff Lynne came from before going over to The Move with Roy Wood and Bev Bevan and subsequently forming E.L.O. I bought this out of pure curiosity not hearing of the Idle Race before and it is definately worth it for fans of The Move and ELO. Many of the songs have whimsical and almost circus like tunes, but many have some quite unusual lyrics. It's very unique music for that time period or now. There are also some real gems with very soothing melodies and warm lyrics. My favorites are "come with me" and "follow me, follow". It's also interesting to hear (if you are used to listening to ELO), some subtle "ELO - like" sounding notes. Definately a strong Jeff Lynne prescense. Quite a few songs also have strong classical overtones such as strings, etc. You can almost tell where he was going in retrospect. Also, the Idle Race was quite heavy into the use of sound effects and dub-overs, some comical, some almost eery. All in all, a very interesting album that is well worth it and a must for the collection of any Move or ELO fan.

Until the planned remastered five-cd set being shephered by Rob Caiger is finally released, this re-issue of original EMI-Premier two-CD set (less two tracks, unable to re-license from Polydor) featuring all three albums and original singles, this collection will serve as a fine stop-gap and serve as a financial balm to those unwilling to afford exhorbitant ebay auction prices for original. At these prices, you'd be silly not to purchase this, tis a great introduction to the nascent songwriting stylings of future ELO mastermind Jeff Lynne as well as his fine compatriots in the Idle Race.

Odd how this band missed the charts while The Move sailed UP the charts.

A few 1st album tracks here are a bit twe. Some later Lynne penned tunes sound just like latter Move or ELO tracks.

I wanted this entire set. I'd heard much of it before thanks to a friend who once had a severe ELO/Jeff Lynne fetish. He was kind of enough to tape that set for me. [You know--cars now come with CD Players]

I cherish it for one superb song: Hurry Up, John. I don't know why but the guitar makes me think of early Queen/Brian May. I really like the l
ayered voices on the song. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A HIT.

It's one of those tracks I hit the "repeat" button for on the car's CD player. That's track 23 on disc 1.

This set is a great bargain. It's nearly [see liner notes] everything these guys recorded together. 3 albums and 10 non-LP tracks and 3 alternate versions. What a bargain.

After this I recommend ALL of The Move's works. Pre-Lynne Move is as good as or better than The Move with Jeff Lynne. Well, there is the Move's amazing original version of "Do Ya".

Alright this is about The Idle Race; if you like 60s melodic pop then get this. Good Grief.

I am a huge fan of 1960's British Psychadelia. With that said, The Idle Race is now my favorite of these bands because of this set (well, along side The Move). If you are a fan of ELO and The Move, then you're gonna appreciate this set A LOT...Its the missing link. The band's first album, "Birthday Party" is a classic. It is a shame that is ever fell into obscurity and wasn't recocgnized (until now) for the great piece of music it is. The album, from start to finish, is nothing short of excellent in my opinion. The song "Follow Me Follow," reminds me a bit of Jorgen Ingman and his guitar playing "Apache" The self-titled second album is almost just as great. A little less quirky, but none the less a early piece of awsome progressive rock. To me, the second album sounds like an early lost ELO album. You can really hear the beginnings of what ELO was to become there. The singles are terrific! It is so nice to have all of the singles in one place together. The band does pull off a very nice cover of Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime." Jeff Lynne had left the band before the release of the last album. The last album is good, but not my favorite. The bright spot for me was their stellar rendition of Harry Nilsson's "She Sang Hymns Out of Tune." I have a lot of respect for whomever it was that discovered that song and decided to cover it. Long story short, this is a phenominal set. Being that its a British import, the sound quality is 5x better that what it would have been if the disc was mastered in the US (sorry had to be said). Anyway, if you like British pysch or even psych music in general you should buy this set.

I bought this having recently heard several of its songs on You Tube videos. The music is 40 years old. The liner notes say Idle Race never had any big hits, not even in their own England. This is yet another example of there being so much great music in the 60's,some of it got lost in the shuffle.The radio stations just didn't have enough time to promote all the great music. The first disc sounds like a mixture of ELO,Kinks & Sgt.Pepper-era Beatles.Jeff Lynne was inventing the ELO sound that was coming in the 70's.The 2nd disc has their singles & their 3rd album which sounds less like ELO since Lynne moved to the Move,but more like folk rock & early 70's funk rock.Their cover of Hotlegs'(early 10 CC) "Neandrathal Man" sounds identical to the original, right down to the too-quiet vocals. They also cover Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime" alot like the original.Their best cover is of Gordon Lightfoot's "Bitter Green".All the rest of the album is great original music that should have been more famous.

.....and if you're not a Jeff Lynne fan, you may still want to pick this one up if you happen to like late 60's British pop.

The Idle Race was one of those bands that never quite "made it," not even in their homeland. Listening to the first CD of this set, which is comprised mainly of the band's first 2 album, it is hard to figure out exactly why this happened. The songs are pretty interesting and several have strong hooks which is not surprising given that almost all of them were penned by Lynne. The arrangements are pretty interesting as well.

There are wonderful forays into psychedelia such as "Skeleton and the Roundabout," "Sitting in My Tree," "Lucky Man," and "Impostors of Life's Magazine." But what are really tremendous are the ballads. Lynne's ballads with ELO were pretty hit-or-miss (with some remarkable "hits" like "Can't Get it Out of My Head"), but here there are loads of great ones like "Morning Sunshine," "The Birthday," "Going Home," "Girl at the Window," "A Better Life," "Please No More Sad Songs," and the remarkable "The Lady Who Said She Could Fly."

The collection is not without its shortcomings. It includes the entire TIME IS album, which was the one that the band made after Lynne left to join The Move. It pales in comparison to the stuff the band was doing when Jeff was still with them. Still, it may be interesting to completists. It's not bad, but rather unremarkable.

But that is a minor quibble. What makes this collection particularly great is the fact that this material has been so difficult to find in the past. Now, here it is in all of its glory. God knows how long it will be in print. This record was originally in print for about 12 hours (hyperbole intended) back in the mid-90s. This is an easy 5 stars for any fan of Jeff Lynne's later work. My recommendation is that you pick this one up before it disappears again.

Jeff Lynne in his pre ELO and Pre Move band gives us a lot of great samples here of what would later become one of the best and most under rated rock bands ever. Although the production isn't quite up to the ELO standards, but considering the technology is 10 years earlier then ELO's 4th or 5th album when they started getting pretty well known, It is still amazing what he and his band were able to do back then.